Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984
Citation Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984 (CCPA), Pub. L. No. 98-549. codified at 47 U.S.C. §551. Overview The Act was The Act sought to establish a national policy concerning cable service; franchise procedures and standards; and guidelines for federal, state, and local authorities to regulate cable service; among other things. The Act imposed some limitations on franchising authorities' regulation of cable rates; in particular, the Act restricted regulation to only basic cable service for cable systems not subject to effective competition as defined by the FCC. Privacy The Act incorporates the provisions of the OECD Guidelines on the Protection of Privacy and Transborder Flows of Personal Data of 1980, and as such provides a model of a comprehensive privacy statute. Under the Act, cable companies must provide a written notice of privacy practices to each subscriber at the time of entering into a service contract and at least once a year thereafter. The privacy notice must specify: * the nature of the personally identifiable information that is or may be collected, and the uses to which it may be put; * the "nature, frequency and purpose" of any disclosure that may be made of such information, including identification of the persons to whom those disclosures may be made; * how long the information may be maintained by the cable service provider; * where and how the subscriber may have access to the information about him- or herself; and * the subscriber's right to bring legal action if the requirements of the law are not followed. It restricts cable operators from using their system to collect personally identifiable information from consumers without prior notice and consent, which must be granted either electronically or in a written format. The Act also prohibits disclosure of personally identifiable information to third parties without consent (except for government requests pursuant to court order, or disclosures necessary for the fulfillment of cable services). Cable subscribers retain the right to inspect and correct errors in the database. A subscriber must be given access to the personal information collected about him or her, "at reasonable times and at a convenient place." The subscriber must be provided with a reasonable opportunity to have any errors in that information corrected. A cable service provider must destroy personal information when it is no longer needed for the purposes for which it was collected (and there are no pending requests for access). It must take appropriate steps to prevent unauthorized access of customers' personal information for as long as it is held. Subscribers have a private right for action if aggrieved by a violation of the CCPA, include recovery of actual and punitive damages. The Act specifically applies to such "other services" as "radio and wire communications," so it should reach information on customers of cable broadband internet connections. The provisions of the Act do not apply to direct broadcast satellite (DBS) companies that provide functionally similar services. States are not preempted from enacting laws that provide greater privacy protections than the CCPA. References Category:Privacy Category:Legislation Category:Legislation-U.S.-Federal Category:Legislation-U.S.-Privacy Category:Legislation-U.S.-Telecommunications Category:Telecommunications Category:1984